christopher price

Why Brandon Lloyd might be one of the most rare receivers in recent Patriots' history

FOXBORO -- Since he took over as the starting quarterback for the Patriots in 2001, Tom Brady has thrown passes to more than a hundred different wide receivers. But according to the quarterback, in a relatively short time, Brandon Lloyd has managed to distinguish himself as one of the most unique he’s ever come across.

“We haven’t had anyone quite like him -- just to understand where he likes the ball placed and how he gets open,” Brady said. “He can be a big part of this offense if we can really get up to speed.”

In the OTA and minicamp sessions the media has had access to this spring, Lloyd has certainly impressed. So much of being a successful receiver in the New England passing game goes back to developing trust and a tight relationship with the quarterback, and even though they’ve only been together for a few months, it’s clear that Brady and Lloyd are already well into a positive working relationship.

Lloyd has lined up with the No. 1 offense on the outside fairly consistently, and while other offensive skill position players have been occasionally reprimanded for lining up in the wrong spot or running a bad route, at least from the outside looking in, his transition to New England has been fairly seamless.

“Brandon has come in and he’s worked extremely hard,” said wide receivers coach Chad O’Shea. “He has been very competitive, and has been a very productive player, just like our other receivers have been.”

O’Shea acknowledged that Lloyd’s experience with Josh McDaniels -- who was with him in Denver and St. Louis for much of the last few years, both as a head coach (with the Broncos) and offensive coordinator (with the Rams) -- has made a difference in his transition.

“I think it makes a big difference. I think that the transition for him has been a lot smoother than it would be for a player who is not accustomed and familiar with the system,” O’Shea said of Lloyd’s previous connection with McDaniels. “So that’s really helped in the process of him coming here and being a productive player for us in the offseason. It really has.”

While the history with McDaniels is in Lloyd’s favor, he’s also shown an ability to compete for balls in the air, a skill that has eluded some of the smallish New England receiving corps over the last few seasons. Things are different if you’re talking about the Patriots’ taller tights ends, but while few will argue with their skill set, Deion Branch at 5-foot-9 and Wes Welker -- also listed (generously) at 5-foot-9 -- aren’t out jumping a lot of defensive backs for their receptions.

“Brandon’s definitely very talented when the ball’s in the air on contested catches,” said O’Shea. “This is something that he’s done in the past. It showed up in our offseason work now, just being very talented when the ball is thrown to make a play down the field.”

“He’s got great ball skills and great body control. If you get it near him, he’s going to catch it,” Brady said of Lloyd. “It’s just a matter of sometimes it doesn’t look like he’s really open and then boom, he springs open on you. So sometimes you think, ‘Oh he’s covered,’ and then you get off him and then you watch the film and you’re like, ‘How did he get open?’

“He knows what he’s doing to set the guys up and he makes the move and you have to trust that he’s going to beat the guy and he does. It’s just really a matter of don’t really let your eyes take away from what he’s doing in his route, because ultimately he’s going to get open at some point.”

In fact, while Brady downplayed comparisons between Randy Moss and Lloyd on Wednesday, it’s worth mentioning that the last (and maybe only) wide receiver Brady has had who could ever consistently out jump defensive backs was Moss. Brady, known as one of the most accurate passers in the recent history of the league, had to learn to trust that even if Moss weren’t open, he’d be able to go up and consistently fight for a ball in the air.

Now, Brady finds himself having to trust all over again. Something that appeared to help the first time around were occasional one-on-one sessions between the quarterback and wide receiver where the two would carve out time during a slow moment in practice -- while the rest of the team worked through one thing, Brady and Moss were frequently spotted off to the side, working together.

While Lloyd and Brady haven’t cloistered themselves off to the same extent this spring, the two are still frequently seen talking together during breaks in practice. It’s all part of the getting-to-know-you process that is at the heart of any successful quarterback/receiver relationship.

“He’s a very good player, so we’ve got a lot of work ahead in training camp,” Brady said, “and we’re going to have to use every single practice and every rep really wisely.”

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